Sunday, January 29, 2012

Breakfast potatoes

just loove me some James Taylor don't you? Prolific songwriter,every song has a story...thats when music meant somethin,I remember those days...Used to be her Town   is one of those songs,fun to sing along with and a great story to listen to.

This is an uber easy recipe but slightly time consuming so I would suggest doing this on weekends. Potatoes w/herbs simple but a lovely take on breakfast potatoes,here's what you'll need:




Obviously I forgot to include the potato in the picture,whoops. All I used was one potato. Chop a half a tblspn of rosemary really well,throw it in a bowl along with half a tblspn dill,salt & peppa to taste and a lil less than half a cup of olive oil. Mix them together.
2.Pour the potatoes into the bowl and make sure all pieces get coated well.Turn the oven onto 375.



3.Put the potato on a cookie sheet and into the oven,make sure that all of the pieces are spread out and not on top of each other,so that they bake to a crisp. Leave them in for about 20mins tossing only once.



4. Once they come out sprinkle just a little salt over the top,not too much,we don't want hypertension. Thats that!! They're always soo yummy,and super easy!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Big Jones a southern treat!

So I am not a big fan of Aerosmith at all,however they have 3 songs that I just love. Dude Looks like a Lady    is #1 on that list. I always think of Mrs.Doubtfire whenever I hear this song,because this song was in the movie and that's kinda how I came to love it!

Today I come to you with a review of Big Jones a southern delicacy in Andersonville. Let me first tell you the bad things,well really there is only one! I made a reservation for 1230pm on a Sunday. I got there right around that time but my friend did not arrive until about 1250 and we were not seated until 105,so by the time I sat down I was heated. Do you know that even if you make a reservation if your full party is not there at the time,other patrons who don't have reservations will be seated before you. That pissed me off,something else was that the hostess wasn't going to tell me that. Shortly after I arrived she told me she'd have a table ready in 5 mins,only to tell me 20mins later (after I'd asked) that I had to wait for the other member of my party to get there. I didn't appreciate that at all,but the food made up for it.





We were so hungry we ordered the cornbread with the honey butter,it was so amazingly delish!!



These were complimentary,and we devoured them. Maybe the best beignets I've had in a while,and not greasy like some others I've had.



I had the simple southern breakfast and no regrets here! The menu says there was smoked bacon but thats not the case. I had some kinda crawfish cake and it was the best cake ever! Now for the age old question...am I going back?? yes but maybe later in the day. Be sure to come back later this week for my killer breakfast potatoes and decadent ganache. Umm no I don't eat them together!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Herbed Tortellini

In lieu of the fact that my favorite singer has gone to glory.I'll be giving you a few of her songs that I just looooved. Etta in my opinion was "the voice",just like the show,man she had "it" she just did! Here are my top 2 fav's:

 Trust in Me and All I could was Cry ohhh and this is the last one I promise Lovin You more everyday

Can you believe I made tortellini for the first time last night,as much as I like it never made it before...well I didn't make it, I bought it from Trader Joe's and prepared it. Last night the Lifetime original Drew Peterson story Untouchable came on,and you know I looove me some lifetime,anyhoo I wanted to prepare myself a nice meal to go along with the movie. Here are the usual suspects:





Obviously your going to need about 2 c's tortellini,forgot to take that picture.Upper right corner is half c of asiago& parmesan cheese,beneath that 2 tblspns chopped sage,1.5 tblspns rosemary and 2 sm cloves garlic.
1)At this point you want to get your water to a rapid boil,when that happens for on the pasta.
2) You'll need 3.5 table spns of butter on med in a sauce pan then pour in the herbs and stir

3) After it begins to look like this slowly add in the heavy cream,I think I used about a lil under a cup,its all about the consistency you want. Add in the cream little by little. After you add in the first bit of cream,toss in the garlic,and you have to constantly stir this,add in salt,pepper and cheese,then immediately turn the heat off. Continue to stir.



4) Toss the tortellini in this,it will be delicious and you will want to lick the spoon,if you are anything like me...you will give in.



Here's the grand finale! Sooo good,not the healthiest thing I've made but damn was it worth the calories!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Casserole

Bill withers is one of the finest lyricist of our time.You Just can't smile it away   is a fine example of that. I discovered this song in 10th grade and mannn did it get me thru some rough times,you know those times where certain little boys didn't even know I existed,ha!

Ok so I wanted to do something with my crockpot,cause its that time of year;So I grabbed the BBQ sauce I bought from Homegoods a while ago,turned the crock pot on low and got to work.Here's what you'll need:







This is two large chicken breast cubed.I didn't use all of it tho,more like a chicken breast in a half.Thats half a bell pepper,a lil under a cup of onion,1 tblspn cilantro and 3 sm garlic gloves.

At this point the crock pot is already on low so pour in all the BBQ sauce and a cup of water,then add in the chicken,garlic,half the cilantro,onions,pepper & blk beans.After these have been marrying together for 45 mins dump in a bag of rice.Continue to cook this for about an hour & 15 mins.Now take out the chicken get two forks and begin to shred the meat.



After is all been shredded put it back in and let it continue to cook for another 35 mins.While this is happening you will need to grate half a cup of colby,cheddar and chihuahua cheese's.



Oops this is a picture from before the chicken was shredded.Now then! after everything is cooked turn the crock pot off and the oven on to 375.You are ready to assemble the casserole. You'll need 2 tortillas,first spray the pan w/some butter/not stick spray.Then lay down the first tortilla, scoop out some of the mixture from the crock pot and sprinkle a little of each of the cheese's on top,then do it once again and the remainder of the cilantro goes on top.



This is right after the first layer.



Here is the finished product!! Its sooo good.I still have so much of the meat mixture left I'll be making enchilada's with it next week!!I really like this because it's relatively easy. I can put it in the crock pot and go on about my business,aanndd I have days of leftovers.
 

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Lemon poppy seed scones

Everytime I listen to any song by Tears for Fears I think of old John Hughes movies..why is that?? I think some of their music must've been in one or several of his films...maybe Breakfast Club.Everybody wants to rule the world is today's jam,I didn't start listening to this music until I was older,but isn't it still so relevant??


A few weeks ago I went to Homegoods for the first time and wow!! It was pretty awesome....I had to get out before I spent to much money.For someone who has an obsession with kitchens and a love for bargain buying...this could be dangerous.I cant wait to go back for more,hehehe! While I was there I bought a lemon poppy seed scone mix as well as a bbq sauce I will blog about later this week.The scones were really easy and on sale for $3.99!! Lets begin.Here's what you'll need:




The recipe only called for regular milk but I had this condensed milk that I wanted to use before it went bad,just a cup of it and 6 tblspns oil,then mix until its all incorporated.



I blended with a for until it was incorporated well.
So the box says you can just scoop out the batter and plop it onto the cookie sheet.Alot like the devil the box is a liar.Don't even bother with a spoon,use your hand. I made about 14 scones this size and I still have batter left.



The came out really well.The bottoms were browner than I thought they would have been,but yummy. I will forwarn you;they are very very lemony,and just as sweet.That burst of flavor will hit you,I want to buy this mix again and use regular milk,I think it would be less sweet,right? Be sure to come back this week to see what awesome things I'm doing with BBQ sauce!!







Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Coconut Cookies

Wouldn't it be nice has a very hunky-dory beat to it,doesn't it? It makes me want to bop from side to side everytime I hear it. It also makes me think of the movie 50 First Dates its like the theme in that movie.There is a really nice orchestrated version in the movie as well...now if only I could find it...

I made coconut cookies...they didn't turn out quite right tho.They are rather flat,but pretty delicious.I got the recipe from my go to allrecipes.com. You can check it here I went ahead and changed the quantity from 36 to 18..perhaps that was where I went wrong.





I mixed together the dry ingredients just like the recipes says.




I creamed the butter and sugars appropriately
I added the egg,vanilla extract....and all that good stuff




1st batch,baked for about 12mins



2nd batch baked for about 10mins.Where did I go wrong?? As I said before they taste fine but they're sooo flat.One of the reasons I love allrecipes.com is because it allows you to change the quantities and it does the math for you!!However I must've gone wrong somehow,any tips?

Sunday, January 8, 2012

10 things you've been clamoring to know about me!

Today's song is by one of my favorite  artists...ok I think Marvin Gaye is my all time favorite! I'm convinced that we were soulmates in a past life,seriously.
Trouble Man is surely an accurate expression of true life. It's a story as all of his music was.

I've seen a few blogs doing this lately and I thought it would be fun and informative:
1)Living Single is my all time favorite show,hands down! Monk and Will & Grace are 2nd.
2)Kadeem Hardison was my first tv crush
3)Mark Whalberg was the first white man I was attracted to,back then he was Marky Mark.
4)Cheese is my favorite food, but you already knew that didn't you?
5)I lie about my height,Im a quarter of an inch shorter than I tell ppl.
6)I'll never forget breaking down in my car on the way to Chicago and crying because I was going to a completely new city with nooo job and nooo friends
7)I waited until I was 21 to drink,and for the whole month I had to have at least a glass of wine a day,haha!
8)I DESPISE oates & coconut unless there in a cookie or on a donut.
9)It is my dream to be in a hip hop video one day,does that sound crazy?
10)Dec.24th is my half birthday and every year I do something special,just for me!


Feel free to leave any random tidbits about yourself!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Deep Fried Cornish Hen!

I absolutely loooove this song.This song accurately interprets one of the many problems in my last relationship. The Woman Before Me  by Trisha Yearwood must be at least 20yrs old but man it is in my opinion a standard.I remember singing this song when it first came out and really not understanding it....boy how things have changed now.

Soooo I deep fried a cornish hen!! It came out so wonderfully delicious.No it wasnt too healthy but it was tasty and pretty easy to make. Here's what you'll need:
The cornish hen will need to be defrosted completely.You'll need:

4 tblespns herbed sea salt
2 "         " paprika
1 "           "crushed red pepper
1/2 c olive oil
Combine all this in a mortar and pestle it until it resembles a rub....Can you really pestle something?? I dunno.Make sure to stir slightly with a spoon to make sure the oil is incorporated.
Put the hen in a ziploc bag then spoon some of the rub onto the hen.Rub the rub(hehehe) onto the hen,not with your hands use the bag.


Put this in the fridge and allow it to marinate for at least 8 hrs........


Now its time to fry our dinner! I didn't measure how much mazola I used but I think it was about 5 c's. 2 very important things you have to consider;1st thing is that you need enough oil to cover the hen,2nd thing is the oil will rise when you put the hen in,so have a pot thats big and deep enough so that the oil doesn't splash and in turn kill you/burn the house down.


I turned the eye on med heat and let the oil get hot for about 10 mins before I even put the bird in.
Clearly I didn't use enough oil,as the bird is not submerged. Thats ok,I fried it on each side for 6 mins,and it came out like this:
When the hen comes out brush the remaining rub onto the bird. Handle it with tongs as it is very hot.

The remains,the lovely beautiful remains.You know as much as I dont like to fry anything ever,this maybe one of my fav recipes,I think I may do this for my next dinner party,hmmmm.

Monday, January 2, 2012

BBQ duck

Ok who remember Taylor Dayne??She could saaang right! I saw her last night on the Food Networks celebrity challenge or something er another...Anyhoo she has definitely had some work done...Her lips and cheeks have gotten fuller if you know what I mean...I thought it would be nice for me to share her song Tell it to my heart with ya'll today!

As you all know I BBQ a duck for Xmas..well not really. I baked a duck smothered in BBq sauce,and since my sister was here she was able to video record me! How cool is that? You can watch the videos here  and here below are the final pictures of our Christmas dinner:



You know the tester thingy thats supposed to pop up when its done?? It never did. It was a pretty good duck tho,it was in the oven for about 1hr & 35 mins,and I took it out about every 15 to baste.






Feeding time!!!

 Poor mangled duck after I "carved" it,hehehe.